request...

Who has The Red Tent? Can you send it my way?! I had just put it on my Paperbackswap list, but I see it has been recently read here. Also, Esther I'm going to request one of you pbs books! lol! It's fun to get the credits :-)

World Without End...

I have finally started Ken Follett's sequel to Pillars of the Earth, World Without End... and I cannot put it down!! It is so good! Oh my goodness, I just needed to shout it from the rooftops that I'm halfway through, and just started it yesterday. I sat and read all evening. Had no idea of the time, didn't stop to eat dinner. Nope, just sat and read into the further saga of Kingsboro and its inhabitants.

Lame posting, I know, but I just had to tell you how much I love it so far! Has everyone but Kim and I read this one??

The Name of the Wind...book 1

It seems I began a series, that's going to be called the Kingkiller Chronicle(s) by Patrick Rothfuss.

From the inside cover..."My name is Kvothe, pronounced nearly the same as 'quothe.' Names are important as they tell you a great deal about a person. I've had more names than anyone has a right to. The Adem call me Maedre. Which, depending upon how it's spoken, can mean The Flame, The Thunderer, or The Broken Tree...

So begins the tale of Kvothe - from his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, to years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-riddled city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a difficult and dangerous school of magic. In these pages you will come to know Kvothe as a notorious magician, an accomplished thief, a masterful musician, and an infamous assassin. But the name of the wind is so much more - for the story it tells reveals the truth behind Kvothe's legend."

This was truly devouring in an adult Harry Potter kind of way. I borrowed it from Warren's friend Pedro and have to return it, but if anyone is interested I'll look for a copy to pass around via paperbackswap.com. I am now in angst for the next book to come out! Check him out at his website: http://www.patrickrothfuss.com/content/index.asp

Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky

This is a title I picked up in the New Orleans airport last Thursday morning. It accompanied me home, and I was pleasantly surprised by the engaging and unique plot.

Barbara Delinsky is known for her romantic, sexy novels, but this has very little romance, and no sex. Instead, it explores issues of trust, privilege, honesty, identity.

All was going on smoothly in Hugh and Dana's life. Hugh came from a very privileged family that traces its roots to the Mayflower; he is a lawyer who champions minorities and those who don't have a voice. Dana does not know her father, so her family origins are unknown. They have forged a strong, loving marriage. But how should they react when their absolutely beautiful newborn has distinctly black features? They're both blindsided, Hugo's family makes unfounded accusations. Since the baby IS theirs, they both start digging for answers in their own unique ways...and in the process, each unearths issues that go beyond that of their daughter's racial mix.

I enjoyed Delinsky's detailed characterizations.. I found myself thinking about the "what if..." issues that were raised. We all think we know how we'd react (or how we would like to react) when presented with unexpected or unplanned events, but how would we REALLY react? This was a quick, but satisfying read.

Karleen Koen series...

Ok, I've been a lazy poster...but I just finished a series that Mom posted the basic info about these three books a few months ago...Dark Angels, Through A Glass Darkley, & And Now Face to Face and I just finished up the series a couple of weeks ago. It was a nice epic read...all fatt books!! I liked the progression of following the family through a long time period.

Karleen Koen blogs here: http://karleenkoen.wordpress.com/

if you are interested in keeping up with her!

What a page-turner!!!

I started this book Saturday night....and read until 3:30 am!!! It's quite a page-turner...and there are 700+ pages to turn! :)

The year is 1699...the place is Fount Royal in the Carolina colony...a beautiful young woman who in the gaol accused of being a witch---she's blamed for the bad weather, for deaths of the locals, for people moving away, for the crops failing and for the murder of her husband. Several people claim to have seen her performing sex acts on devils. Naturally, the town leaders what her burned at the stake...as quickly as possible, however, they do feel the need to abide by the law, so a magistrate is summoned and he happens to bring with him a young clerk named Matthew Corbett. Matthew is secretly told by the housekeeper of the town town founder that Rachel is innocent and that she needs a "champion of truth." Matthew tends to have a natural curiosity coupled with a logical mind, so he finds himself walking a fine line with the magistrate and his role of Rachel's champion.

Right now I'm in the middle of witnesses being questioned, the magistrate falling quite ill which delays the trial, Matthew having to spend 3 days in jail, and various strange happenings going on the the town...nothing is quite as it seems to be.

I've also got the sequel to read--The Queen of Bedlam.

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations...One School at a Time

by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. After reading starred reviews and taking peeks in airport bookstores, I was able to get this book via Paperback Swap! This is Greg Mortenson's story: for many years he lived to conquer the highest mountain peaks. In 1993, when he fell just short of the summit of K2 and fell dangerously ill, he was sheltered for two months by the Balti leader of Korphe, a tiny remote Pakistani village. "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger," a villager tells Greg Mortenson. "The second time, you are an honored guest. The third time you become family." In gratitude, Mortenson promised to return and help the villagers build their first school. He surprised the villagers by keeping his promise. Mortenson's Central Asia Institute now works with villagers in rural Pakistan and Afganistan to construct schools with the hope that alleviating poverty and improving access to education, especially for girls, will promote understanding and peace. Could use some editing, but it's a great read. I highly recommend it. For more info: http://www.threecupsoftea.com/Intro.php

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
I started this book and had difficulty putting it down. Set in 19th century China, this is the story of two women who live during the time when bound feet was the norm and women lived their lives in relative seclusion. From the publisher: "Illiterate and isolated, [women] were not expected to think, be creative, or have emotions. But in one remote county, women developed their own secret code, nu shu – "women's writing" – the only gender-based written language to have been found in the world." In this book, a young girl, Lily, tells of her life journey -- from being paired with Snow Flower as "old-sames" (an emotional match that lasts between two women for their entire life), boot-binding, arranged marriages, joys, motherhood, tragedies. They learn nu shu and other womanly arts -- sharing from each other's experiences. When apart, they paint letters on a special secret fan and embroidered messages on handkerchiefs. A misunderstanding about a message on the secret fan estranges them for years. A great story of friendship. This is a MUST READ. It is also a great choice for a women's book club.

For more information about the author, this title, and to see links for more information on foot binding or nu-shu, go to: http://www.lisasee.com/snowflower.htm